Device for mixing materials



1. A. MITCHELL.

DEVICE'FOR MIXING MATERIALS.

FILED JAN. 18. 1922.

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UNHTEID stares JQHN A. MITCHELL,

tanner PATENT clerics.

OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO A. D. T.

LIBBY, OF EAST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

DEVICE FOR MIXING MATERIALS.

Application filed January 18, 1922. Serial No. 530,071.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN A. MITCHELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Newark, in the county of Essex, State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Device for Mixing Materials, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing and to the figures of reference marked thereon.

This invention relates to a device for mixing materials, such as paints, varnish, syrup and such like. in mechanical mixers of which i am aware, a propeller is carried on a shaft which telescopes a projecting end of an operating shaft. some fastening means being provided to hold the propeller shaft in the position in which it is set with respect to the drive shaft. This fastening means together with the propeller "shaft and the drive shaft extension are all in the vat or container and, therefore, always covered with the mixture so that when the height of the propeller in the vat or container is desired to be changed, the aforesaid fastening means is all covered with varnish, paint or syrup or whatever is being mixed, thereby causing the fastening means to stick together and making the job of adjusting the propeller shaft length a disagreeable one.

It is the principal object of my invention to provide a design of mixer in which this difliculty is overcome. I do this by provid ing a hollow drive shaft suitably mounted in a housing and extending the propeller shaft all the way through the hollow drive shaft and then use attaching means between the hollow shaft and the propeller shaft on that end of the drive shaft away from the vat or container. This construction leaves the said fastening means always clean and easily and quickly gotten at.

Furthermore the propeller shaft may be quickly raised and lowered to any desired height without the operator getting his hands into the material that is being mixed.

Another object of my invention is to provide means for quickly attaching the mixer to the container carrying the material to be mixed and further to provide means for swinging the propeller shaft to any desired an le within the container. I

hose and other objects will be clearly apparent from a reading of the specification taken in connection with the drawing, wherein: Figure 1 shows my mixer attached to a vat or container for large industrial purposes; Figure '2 is a part sectional plan view through the housing carrying the drive shaft, as well as the means for operating the drive shaft; I

Figure 3 is a view of one form of means for attaching the mixer to a container;

Figure at is a view of a detail part used to connect the mixer with the attachment means shown in Fig. 3; V

Figure 5 is an end view of Fig. 4:; F1gure 6 is a fragmentary view of a support on the housing which carries the hollow drive shaft;

Figure 7 is an end view of Fig. 6;

Figure 8 is a detailed View of the hollow drive shaft showing the stuffed gland on one end and means for fastening the drive shaft to the hollow shaft on the other; and

Figure 9 is a view of a smaller device than that shown in Fig. 1, to illustrate how gelgitaln of the details may be readily modi- Referring now to the details wherein like numbers refer to corresponding parts in the various views, 1 is a vat or container for carrying the materials to be mixed. The mixer itself consists of a housing 2 which may be made in any suitable form or number of parts, but will be herein generally referred to as the housing. Carried'on the housing 2 is a hollow shaft 3, which may have any suitable bearings, ball bearings 4c being illustrated in Fig. '2. I

The hollow shaft 3 projects through the housing at both ends and has preferably at the end toward the container a stuffing gland 5 for the purpose of guiding the propeller. shaft 6 and also preventing any grease or oil, if any be used, working out of the housing 2. Since ball bearings are used, substantially no oil need be placed thereon, so that there is substantially no danger of any oil getting by the stufling gland 5. On the other end of the hollow shaft 3 or that end away from the container 1, suitable fas tening means is used to grip the propeller shaft 6 in any desired position to which it is adjusted in a longitudinal direction with respect to the hollow shaft 3 The fastening means shown is in the form of a chuck 7,

. the lockin proper reduction to a propeller the end of the shaft 6 iscarried a propeller 8 which may have as many blades as desired.

The housing 2 has hollow supports 9, one of which terminates in a circular flange 10. Flange 10 has a series of holes 11. which cooperate with a pin 12 carried on a flange 13. The pin 12 is operated by a knob 14 against the action of a spring 15, so that the pin 12 may e withdrawn fromthe holes 11, whereby the housing 2 and the two shafts may be adjustably rotated through an angle to move'the propeller into some other portion of the container 1. .When the desired angle is attained, the pin .12 is released and sets within one of the holes 11, thereby locking the two flanges 10 and 13 together. It will be understood that the pin 12, knob 14 and spring 15 maybe carried in the flange 10 and the holes 11 in the flange 13. The flange 13 is securely fastened to a rod 16, whose end 17 passes within the. hollow portion 18 of the support 9, thereby giving a bearing for the supports 9. The rods 16 may be solid, but I prefer to use a hollow tube as shown 'in Fig. 4; in order to lighten up the device.

These rods 16 are adjustably fastened to attachment means 19 by set screws 20, locking screws 21 being used for fastening the attachment means 19 to the rim of the container 1. It will be seen that'the attachment means 19 may be slid around on the container to any desired position, after which screws 21 are set up and the set screws 20 astened in position." 3

One means for driving the hollow shaft 3 is illustrated in Fig. 2 bymeans of a gear wheel 22, which in. my preferred form is geared to another gear Wheel 23 that is preferablyoperated by an electric motor, the housing for'which is illustrated by 24.

In Fig. 9 the attachment means between the propeller and hollow shafts are similar to thatshown in Fig. 1 and since the other details are clearly apparent they will not be further discussed herein.

It will be seen from the above description that I have provided a complete unitary as well as sanitary mixing structure, in which preferably a relatively high speed motor of small size is geared to give the shaft through the medium of the devices described.

The device is quickly adaptedto any size of vat or container and may be quickly set at any angle. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous changes may be made in the details without departing from the spirit of my invention and the scofie of the appended claims.

aving thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a device of the class described, a hollow shaft and bearings therefor, means for driving said shaft, a propeller shaft 'spect to the hollow shaft.

passing clear through said hollow shaft and means for fastening the propeller shaft to the hollow shaft .in any desired longitudinal position.

2. In a device of the class described, a hollow shaft and bearings therefor, means for driving said shaft, a propeller shaft passing clear through said hollow shaft and a quickly operative chuck for adjusting and fastening the propeller shaft in any desired ongitudinal position.

3. In a device of the class described, a housing, a hollow shaft and bearings therefor carried by said housing, a gear wheel on, said shaft, a motor geared to said gear wheel, a shaft, carrying a propeller, passing clear through said hollow shaft and means for readily adjusting and securing the posi* tion of the propeller and its sha ft with re- 4. In a device of the class described, a hollow shaft and bearings therefor, means for driving said shaft, a propeller shaft passing "clear through said hollow shaft, means for fastening the propeller shaft to the hollow shaft in any desired longitudinal position,'and further means for swinging both said shafts through an angle in the plane of said shafts. I

5. In a device of the class described, a housing, a hollow shaft and bearings therefor carried by said housing, a gear wheel on said shaft, a motor geared to said gear wheel, a shaft, carrying a propeller, passing clear through said hollow shaft, means for readily adjusting and securing the position of the propeller and its shaft with respect to the hollow shaft, and further means for swinging said housing, motor and shafts. through an angle in the planeof said shaft.

6. In a device of the class described, a housing, a hollow shaft and bearings therefor carried by said housing, a gear wheel on said shaft, a motor geared to said gear wheel, a shaft, carryin a propeller, passing clear through said hollow shaft, a stuffing gland on one end of the hollow shaft and a chuck on the other end of the hollow shaft for gripping the propeller shaft at any desired point,

7. A device for mixing materials in a container, consisting of, a housing, a hollow shaft carried by the housing, means for drivlng said shaft, a shaft, carrying apropeller, passing through said hollow shaft and means carried by the hollow shaft on the end away from the container for securing the propeller shaft to the hollow shaft in any desired longitudinal position with respect t ereto.

8. A device for mixing materials in a container, consisting of, a housing, a hollow shaft carried by the housing, means for driving said shaft, a shaft carrying a propeller passing through said hollow shaft, a

stuffing gland on that end of the, hollow shaft toward the container, and a chuck carried by the hollow shaft on the end away from the container for adjustably securing the propeller shaft to the hollow shaft.

9. A device for mixing materials in a container, consisting of, a housing having a support or supports, a hollow shaft extending through the housing and having bearings thereon, means for driving said shaft, a shaft, carrying a propeller, passing all the waythrough said hollow shaft, means outside the container for fastening the propeller shaft to the hollow shaft in any desired longitudinal position, attachment-means to go on the container, and means connecting said attachment means to said housing support or supports. Y

10. A device for mixing materials in a container, consisting of, a housing, having a support or sup p'ortsya hollow shaft extending through the housing and having bearings thereon, means for driving said shaft, a

' shaft, carrying a propeller, passing all the way through said hollow shaft, means outside the container for fastening the propeller shaft to the hollow shaft in any desired longitudinal position, attachment means to go on the container, means connecting said attachment means to said housing support or supports, and means interposed between said connecting means and said support or supports for swiveling said :5 housing and shafts through an ang 11. A device for mixing material in a container, consisting of, a housin having a support or supports, a hollow s aft extending through the housing and having bearings thereon, means for driving said shaft, a shaft, carrying a propeller, passing all the Way through said hollow shaft, means out side the container for fastening the propeller shaft to the hollow shaft in any desired longitudinal position, adjustable attachment means to go on the container, a flange on one of said housing supports, a second flange adjustably fastened to said attachment means and means associated with said flanges for permitting one to be rotated with respectto the other and then locking them together.

12. In a device of the class described, ad- If justable attachment means for engaging the rim of a container, members adjustably carried by said attachment means and extending toward each other above the top of the container, a housing having supports for engaging said members, a hollow shaft carried by said housing and-extending there through, a propeller shaft passing through said hollow shaft, a chuck on the outer end of the hollow shaft for gripping the propeller shaft. a gear wheel fastenedto the hollowshaft and a motor operatively carried by the housing and drivingly connected to said gear wheel.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

JOHN A. MITCHELL. 

